Falling in Love a Little Bit Every Day
by thegreatersea
Summary: Communication is important for any relationship, exponentially more so when there's more than two people. One lazy Sunday, Ruby decides to strike up a conversation with her girlfriends about anything that might be bothering them, or just anything they want the other two to know about.


Sunday tended to be a quiet day in Team RWBY's dorm, a perfect day for lazing about (or, for Yang and Weiss, a chance to do some studying while making sure _someone_ actually finished their homework). In Ruby's case, it was a day for reading a good book while snuggled between her girlfriends. On her right, Pyrrha was browsing health forums on her scroll, looking for remedies that might get her out of choking down Ren's concoctions. She liked kale well enough, but she preferred eating it to drinking it. On her left, Blake was absorbed in what looked like the sequel to _What's Left of Me_ , and Ruby made a note to see if she could borrow it later.

However, there was something they needed to do today, and Ruby wasn't going to let totally awesome snuggles distract her. Scooting back to sit up against the headboard, she coughed lightly to get her girlfriends' attention and said, "hey, uh, guys? I think we should talk."

Blake and Pyrrha sat up as well, setting aside their book and scroll respectively to grasp one of Ruby's hands each. Blake spoke up first.

"Is something wrong? I'm sure there's something we could do to help."

"Has Cardin been bothering you again? I'm sure I could convince Professor Goodwitch that letting me spar against him would give him valuable experience," Pyrrha added, squeezing Ruby's hand lightly.

Squeezing Blake and Pyrrha's hands back, Ruby shook her head. "No, no, no! Nothing like that! It's just." She sighed. "I know it's kind of early to say this, but I want this, what we have together, to last. I've been reading everything I can find about polyamory, and while a lot of the books seem to focus way too much on sex, they all agree that communication is important, even more than in more traditional relationships! So I want us to maybe set some time aside to talk about whatever might be bothering us, or what we want more of, or even setting some ground rules if we need to."

Pyrrha let go of Ruby's hand to hug her closer. "That sounds like a lovely idea, my dear. Was there anything in particular you wanted to bring up?"

"Well," Ruby said, "there is something I've been meaning to tell you guys, but I'm nervous about going first. Could either of you start off, please?"

This time, Blake lets go of Ruby's hand and angles themself so they can put their arm around both of their girlfriends. "I suppose I have something. I know I've seen you looking, Ruby, and I'm sure you have as well Pyrrha, but I'm really not comfortable with anyone touching my ears. I know they're usually considered cute, but they're a part of me and my identity as a faunus, and I've had some bad experiences with people who thought they could just touch them with or without asking."

Pyrrha reached up to pat the hand on her shoulder. "Of course that's alright, Blake! And if there's anything else about being a faunus you need or want to make us aware of, please feel free. Right, Ruby?"

"Yeah, of course! But, um." Ruby bit her lip before pressing on. "Would it be okay for you to take off the bow when it's just us? Only, I feel like you're hiding part of yourself around us when you do that, and I've seen the way you twitch your ears when you take the ribbon off to sleep, so it can't be comfortable to hold them so still all the time, and I'm rambling again aren't I?"

Hugging them closer, Blake chuckled and said, "Don't worry about it, Ruby. And I think that's alright. I guess it's just become such a constant habit to hide my ears, that I didn't think about what it might look like to hide them around the two of you." They reached up and pulled the ribbon off, swivelling their ears to stretch them out some. "Plus, it'll be nice to let them get some air again. Now, did you want to go next Ruby? Or would you be more comfortable if Pyrrha did?"

"Nope, I'm okay!" With some careful maneuvering, she managed to get her arms around both Blake and Pyrrha. "So, this was going to come up eventually, but the sooner we talked about this the better. Anyway." Taking a deep breath, she continued, "I figured out kinda recently that I'm asexual. And while I'm not sex-repulsed, and I am pretty indifferent to the idea of having it myself, I know it could really change how our relationship works if both of you decide you're ready for sex. I mean, like, I'm totally fine with you two having sex with each other when and if you're ready! I'm just not sure if I'd want to participate." Ruby suddenly found herself engulfed as both of her girlfriends hugged her close, planting kisses in her hair.

Keeping her nestled close, Pyrrha spoke up first. "Thank you for sharing that with us Ruby. I imagine it took a good amount of courage to bring that up. If either Blake or I make you uncomfortable at all, please tell us right away, it's the last thing we want. Now, and I'd like to point out first that this wouldn't happen for a while, at least for me, but if the time comes where we're all open to the idea of having sex, would you want to try participating that first time? Just to see what you might be comfortable with? Part of why I ask is because not just Blake, but you've also featured in some, um, _fantasies_ of mine, and I'd like to try exploring some of them with you." Pyrrha eyes widened as she realized what that might have sounded like. "Not that you're under any obligation to help me with that whatsoever! But, if you're absolutely okay with it, I'd like to try once. Also, there are some, um, things with Blake, that I'm not sure -" Pyrrha hid her face in Ruby's neck, but it couldn't hide the blush the covered her whole face. She motioned vaguely towards Blake. "Blake, maybe you should continue this," she muttered.

Patting Pyrrha's shoulder, Blake said, "First of all, I agree with Pyrrha and I'm glad you felt comfortable enough to share that with us. As for what Pyrrha is blushing too hard to say, well. Pyrrha and I actually had a few conversations about sex before. We both agreed it was too early, but we wanted to know what each of us was into to make things go smoother whenever we did try. We had planned on pulling you into the discussion soon. Anyway, there's no easy way to put this, but I'm into, well, bondage. Pyrrha decided she wasn't particularly comfortable with the idea of tying me up, and it's something I was hoping you'd want to try. It's not something really sexual for me if that's a concern, although it certainly could be sometimes. Even if all that happens is you binding my arms while we read together or something similar, that would be more than enough. Most of what bondage is about for me is the feeling of safety I get when someone I trust does it, where I can just lay back, not have to think, and let someone else take care of me for a bit. Do you think that would be okay? I can always handle it myself if you're not, although in that case I might need your engineering expertise to make a binding I can get myself out of in emergencies."

Ruby stayed quiet, the slight squint to her eyes the only sign she was giving everything her girlfriends told her some serious thought. Blake and Pyrrha lightly rubbed her back, giving her all the time she needed to sort through her feelings. Truth to tell, she wasn't really opposed to what they were asking, and it wasn't like she was bound by whatever she said now, anyway. Giving a tiny nod, Ruby said, "I think I'm willing to give it a shot when the time comes. As you've both said, I can back out at any time if I get uncomfortable. I do want to say, and I might change my mind about this depending on how things go, that while I'll probably have no problems, er, helping you guys out, I don't think I'll want any focus on myself. The idea doesn't really do anything for me."

Blake and Pyrrha shared a glance before Blake nodded and gave voice to what they both thought. "And that's completely fine, Ruby," they said. "I think we can definitely work with that, although obviously it shouldn't come up for at least a few months."

Ruby gave Blake and Pyrrha a quick hug before continuing. "As for the bondage thing, I have to admit that the way you described the nonsexual part of it has me interested, and I'm willing to give it a try whenever you're ready. I might help you design the binding anyway, just in case you need it and one of us isn't here to help you. It sounds like an interesting challenge if nothing else, and it's to help you!"

Blake pulled Ruby in for a quick hug and a peck on the cheek, before returning their arm to Pyrrha's shoulder. "Thank you, Ruby, that means a lot to me. I'll probably take this week to get some things together, and hopefully we can give it a try next weekend at some point." At this, Blake turned to look at their other girlfriend, a soft smile on their face. "Since Ruby and I both had our say, was there anything you wanted to bring up, Pyrrha? You've been wonderful about our issues, and we'd love to help with anything."

That, along with Ruby's interjected "Yep!" brought a smile of her own to Pyrrha's face. "It's not quite like coming out or anything like that, but there is something you two could help me with. As you might guess, between working with Jaune both in and out of class, and learning more about Ren and Nora, who've only had each other for goodness knows how long, I suppose I've slipped into the role of something like a team mom, as the phrase goes? And I care about the both of you very much, more than I've cared about most things in my life. So i guess my biggest worry is that my behavior might slip away from that of a loving girlfriend and more towards mothering? I just want to make sure that if that ever happens, both of you would tell me so I can correct that behavior."

Ruby grinned. "No fear of that, Pyrrha! I don't think either of us would let you mother us even without the heads-up, but from now on we'll make double-sure to not let that happen. Right, Blake?"

"Right, Ruby. And if I can add on to that, I think you should talk to your team at some point. No one person should be shouldering that kind of emotional weight on their own. They need to support you too, or else things could backfire eventually in a major way. I saw it happen a few times back before," Blake said, looking down. "If it wasn't addressed, either the whole group fell apart messily, or the 'mom friend,' as you put it, would blow up at the rest of them when things got too heavy for them. I'm not saying either of those will happen with JNPR, but it's probably for the best to take care of it ahead of time."

"You're likely right about that, Blake," Pyrrha said, "and thank you both for agreeing to help. I really appreciate it."

"Like we said, it's no trouble at all, Pyrrha." Ruby looked at her girlfriends in turn. "Well, that covered everything for me at least. Was there anything else either of you wanted to add?" When both Blake and Pyrrha shook their heads, Ruby's grin stretched a bit wider before she suddenly dragged them both back down into bed with her. Enjoying the even closer snuggles, Ruby said, "so, since that's done, I think we have just enough time before dinner for a nap, don't you?"

"That sounds lovely, Ruby."

"I can't think of anything I'd rather do right now."

And with that, the trio exchanged quick kisses before laying their heads back down and enjoying the quiet as they started drifting off. Blake, unsurprisingly, was first, having learned how to fall asleep almost anywhere. Pyrrha was next, lulled to sleep by the quiet and warmth of her girlfriends to her left. And for Ruby, the last things she heard before drifting off herself were the quiet rumblings from Blake on her left, and the little whistles coming from Pyrrha on her right.


End file.
